A Jolly Roger Christmas
by gibbonsarenotmonkeys
Summary: Killian & Ruby spend their first Christmas together.


"Would you two give it a rest with the mistletoe?" Granny raised her eyebrows imperiously, hands on her ample hips as she peered down her bespectacled nose at the couple curled up in what used to be her favourite armchair. Red looked up at her grandmother with a rebellious twinkle in her eyes, her hand still tangled in the dark hair of the man upon whose lap she was perched. He cracked an eye in the old woman's direction, but otherwise couldn't be bothered to turn away from kissing Red's neck, a piece of mistletoe tied to the hook that was loosely wrapped around her waist.

"But it's Christmas, Granny." She protested, but when her grandmother rolled her eyes, she pouted and tugged back on his hair to gently pull him back. "Alright, Killian, down boy." The pirate groaned, leaning his head back against the chair and running his hand down her thigh to her knee to adjust her position in his lap. Granny narrowed her eyes at the pair of them skeptically, but after a moment she dropped her hands from her hips and crossed the room to the brightly decorated Christmas tree.

"You need to finish opening these gifts before everyone arrives for breakfast. Unless you just don't want them?" Granny had pulled the pair of them out of Red's nice warm bed bright and early for Christmas breakfast with their friends and family in the diner, although so far, the only tradition Killian had embraced was that of mistletoe.

"No, we want them!" Red protested happily, grinning widely as Granny brought over one small, brightly wrapped package, and a slightly larger one wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. The small one went to Killian, the other to Red. "Open yours first. It's from me." She nudged him with a grin, and Killian gave her a curious look before he complied, using his teeth to tear into the paper. Inside was a velvet box, and when he opened it, he found a large, round ruby inside. "It's for your earring." She explained, reaching out to tap the dangling ornament affectionately. Killian raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"Marking your territory, I see." He teased, and she shrugged shamelessly.

"Well it seemed like less trouble than scrawling my name across your forehead every morning." She teased him right back, and he grinned before pulling her to him and capturing her lips again. An exasperated Granny threw up her hands in defeat.

"I give up on you two, I'll be in the kitchen." She told them as she swept out of the room, and Red glanced up, giggling softly. Killian waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Excellent, I thought she'd never leave." Killian leaned in towards him again, but Red lifted a hand to block his lips, and he gave her an annoyed look, kissing the back of her hand instead. "Ruby."

"Killian. I haven't opened your present yet." She held up the brown-paper package, and he sighed with resignation, idly running his hand up and down her thigh from the bottom of her shorts to her knee while she painstakingly untied the string and unfolded the paper. There was no box, but when she pulled the package apart, a string of black pearls tumbled out, spilling into her lap. She picked them up by the black ribbon they were tied with. "They're beautiful."

"I got them in Neverland." He bragged, and a slight smile pulled her lips upward. "Stole them from a mermaid's grotto."

Red raised her eyebrows at him, her eyes flickering down to the necklace. "Why?" Killian gave her a puzzled look. "Why did you take them?"

It took him a moment to consider his answer. "Because I could." Then he leaned in to claim her lips again, and this time, she let him.

They had a few more presents to open, Killian got a bottle of rum from Granny – the 'good' stuff, apparently – and Red got a package of socks, because whatever else Granny might be, she was still her grandmother. By the time they'd finished opening gifts, Red scarcely had time to put on actual pants before the arrival of the seven dwarves was announced by raucous holiday greetings from downstairs.

"Now, be nice, Killian." Red reminded him as she pulled him down the stairs.

"I'm always nice," he answered, sounding offended, and Red gave him a stern look.

"I mean it! It's Christmas, don't pick any fights." He smiled at her attempt to be commanding, and nodded.

"I'll do my best, love."

As it turned out, Killian could be a gentleman when he wanted to be, and breakfast passed without any major incidences. Even Regina managed to be civil to everyone involved, and the diner was not burnt to the ground. All in all, a successful Christmas breakfast.

"Promised the lads I'd make them my famous codfish stew," he shrugged later that afternoon, as Red was getting ready to go over to Snow and Charming's for Christmas dinner.

"Liar. You're just going to go get drunk and pass out onboard your ship, aren't you?" She accused him, but her tone was light, and didn't carry any real anger. He'd spent the morning with her, and most of the afternoon, and the crew were like family to him, even if he wouldn't admit it. She couldn't blame him for wanting to spend time with them on Christmas.

"Well, we're going to do that too." He admitted with a shrug. "You're welcome to come, darling." He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and she was a little bit tempted to just go…but codfish stew, or Snow's home cooked turkey? No contest.

"Tell you what, I'll bring you some dessert after dinner." She turned around in his arms, and he looked pleased.

The pirate crew was still wide awake as Red made her way down the pier, and she couldn't help but think it was lucky that no one lived nearby, with how loudly and badly they were singing. Even so, she was laughing by the time she climbed up the gangplank, and accepted the…questionable drink that Smee pressed into her hand as she boarded the ship. None of the pirates were surprised to see Red, and many of them offered some form of greeting, from wishing her a merry Christmas to some inaudible gurgling that she couldn't quite make out. Most of them had other places to live, left over from their lives as Storybrooke citizens, but a few of them had moved back onto the ship permanently after Killian had arrived, and the rest came by often enough that they might as well live there, torn between their old lives and the new. It didn't take her long to find Killian by the prow.

"I see you haven't passed out black yet." She grinned, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"Well I've been waiting for you to bring me dessert… you could have eaten a little faster, love." He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she smiled, holding up a container of plum pudding.

"I didn't know you had such a sweet tooth." Killian blinked, looking confused.

"Oh…so, you meant…actual food?" He said slowly, taking the container and peering through the clear side suspiciously. Red blinked.

"What did you think I mea- oh." Killian grinned as the realization sunk in, pulling her closer. "Well…if that's what you want…" He needed no further encouragement than that, and spinning her around, he threw her over his shoulder, grinning at her shriek of laughter. He pressed the container of plum pudding into Smee's hand as he carried her past him on the way to his cabin, winking at his first mate before he kicked the door shut behind them.


End file.
